Grissom, Balk-Aided Burst Lift Angels Past Twins 4-3
Los Angeles handed Minnesota a three-run fourth inning — one homer and a balk — and never gave the lead back, escaping Target Field with a 4-3 win on July 11. Vaughn Grissom was the engine, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, and 2 RBI in a performance that looks like the clearest reason LAA walked away with this one.
Minnesota drew first blood in the opening frame when Larnach scored on a Clemens sacrifice fly to right, and for three innings that 1-0 lead held. Then the fourth inning happened, and it happened fast. Grissom launched a 369-foot home run to left to tie it, and then — in what appears to be the story of the night — Zebby Matthews balked in a run to put LAA ahead 2-1. The Angels weren't done in the fifth: Schanuel singled to right, scoring Meckler, and Grissom followed with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Heineman, pushing the lead to 4-1. Matthews finished with 6.0 innings pitched, allowing 9 hits and 4 earned runs — a line that looks like it tells the whole story of his afternoon.
Minnesota tried to claw back in the sixth. Brooks Lee doubled to left, scoring Bell and moving Lewis to third, and that play swung the home win probability from 27% to 44% — the biggest single-play momentum shift of the game. A Martin groundout to shortstop then scored Lewis, and suddenly it was 4-3 with life in the building. Lee finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Larnach went 2-for-4 with a run — the Twins had contributors, but the deficit they dug in the fourth proved too steep.
On the mound, Grayson Rodriguez went 5.1 innings for LAA, allowing 6 hits and 3 earned runs with 1 walk and, notably, zero strikeouts — a workmanlike outing that looks like it required the bullpen to clean things up. Samy Natera Jr. handled 1.2 innings in relief, giving up 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2 and allowing nothing to score. For Minnesota, Andrew Morris was sharp in 2.0 innings of relief — 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts — but the Angels' bullpen held the line when it mattered. LAA's 4-3 final is the kind of win that doesn't look pretty on paper, but a balk, a Grissom blast, and a locked-down late innings got the job done.